Construction of piers and the like.



PATENTED DEC. 25, 1906.

A Nx SPOONER.

OP PIERS AND THE LIKE.

PLIATIN flLBD MAR. 14,1956.

3 SHEETS-SHEET No. 889,434. A. N. SPOONER.

GONSTBUCTGN OP MERS AND T5551 LIKE. APPLICATION rum mi..

PATENTED DEG. 25, 1906.

A. N.`SPOONER.

CONSTRUCTON UF PIERS AND THE LKE. APPLICATION FILED MAR.14,1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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CNSTUTGN (3F PEEFZS ANU THE LMU-I.

no, senese.

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 25, 1906.

Application and time 14,1909. semi 10.305.994.

citizen the United States, residing et the city oi" New 3; o'rk ui the borough oi Manhatten andState or `civ York, lieve invented certain new une useful improvements in Construction of .Piers and the Like, of' which the following is full, clear, and exact description.

illy invention relates o the construction oi masonry end concrete piers, foundations', ses-Walls, and 'liclilie Where the n'icin part oi the construction has to be done beneath' the surface ol'water.

The principeil object oi the invention to i e very simple and comparatively incnper method ils ingioundation structures oi the sbo ve cherscter and one which is slicsble to pls-ces Whore there strongi tides, so that the .vorl( olcons truction is diilicul t or impossible bv the ordinal A"metlnnls.

A 'further object oi the inmution is to devise a crib composed entirely of ordinary piping, bolts, plonlrs, and foundiy-custings capable ol." being esseinbled into piece without any machine-Work or diilicult manipulation and largely above the surface olI the iveter by the ordinnr)y unskilled labor available.

With these and other obiects in View my invention consists in the steps, sequence, und order o1" operations hereinafter set forth and also in the construction, eombinetion, loca-- tion, and arrangement oi' parts, all as will be particularly poin ted out in the appended clnims.

In drawings, Figure 1 is un end elevation ci e. partly-completed foundation structure and crib embodyingT the principles ol' my invention. Fig. 2 is o iront elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a. detail view illustriitinff the joints and connections of the parts which l employ in practice. Fig. 4 is e similar view` showing other details.

Piers, Wells, and lfoundations below the surface of the Water are he uently constructed oi concrete or cement, W rich is supplied in liquid or plastic forni end allowed to harden in place. lu order to form the concrete into the structure desired, a mold is ofcourse necessary, und for this purpose it is customary to use caissons, coller-denis, and other apporctus. Caissons for this purpov e are verv expensive end it' employed as o mold for the concrete or grout cannot be subsequently detached and used again for any other purpose.

i waves renders it extremely dilicult to moor .d still more serious objection to caissons is i'ound with their usage 1n rough Water, since the great surface exposed to the tldes and them in piece initially with sufficient security. Coder-dams are extensively employed 'for comparatively shallow Water; but it is evident 'that in cases Where there are strong tides or rough Water or Where the water is comparatively deep the coder-dem is Iinappliccble.

in carrying out my present invention I Ineke use of a sectional crib in which there is almost no surface exposed to the action of the tide and waves until the masonry Work is substantiell i' completed, and therefore able to supply al the necessary strength. I iurtlier secure the greater port of the assembling and construction work above the surface of the Water, so that s minimum amount of work is imposed upon the divers, whose services are of course diilicuit and expensive, perticularly in rough or deep Water.

Referring now to thc iigures of the drawings, in which like parts are designated by the seine reference-siens, 1 denotes the bed of n river, harbor, or ot Aer situationwhere it is desired to construct a foundation. The loose silt and mud is :first carefully cleaned awz'iy, so as to expose the hard-pan or rock beneath. This being accomplished, a quentity of concrete is obtained and packed closely aroundthe outlines of the foundation by the divers in begs, as indicated at 2. Under these circumstances the concrete soon' herdens and the bags remain or Weld themselves together into a good firm foundation. The central part 3 is then grouted in and the operation repeated with bags and grouting until the see-bottom isleveled off around the place desired,l the rocks or herd-pen having, of course, an uneven or jagged contour ordinaril'y in the natural state. When a level door or surface is provided in this or any other Way, I proceed with what constitutes more particularly the features of my invention. l

I do not claim the features by which the level surface is secured, it being possible to use any desired method.

Upon the level surface (designated at 4) I lay a. pair of arullel pipe-sections 5,' and loosely disposed) upon these I provide collars 6, which nio. be ordinary couplings learned out to a suincient size to loosely pass upon the pipe-sections 7 denotes short studs/or ICO IIO

pipes .threaded into the `collars 6 and which Y constitute tenons for the vertical structure hereinafter described. These pipes are laid in position for line and level With their-loose collars approximately spaced, and the studs 7, Which are shown inA an upright position in the drawings, are temporarily allowed to remain in repose, thereby 'obviating a rotary motion in the pipe during the preparation of its' position; but this being accomplished these studs 7 are regulated by a diver, as shown in Fig. 1', and temporarily held in posi-l tion by a thumb set-screw `(No. 27) in the side of the loose collar or fitting when in readiness to receive and connect With the main supports or uprights. f i

The main 'supports or uprights of the crib are indicated at 8 and also comprise sections of ordinary iron pipe aboutfour'inches in diameter -in practice. The diameter of these sections, is great enough to pass-over and inclo'se the upstanding studs 7, s o that the u rights become firmly connected' to the stu s in this Way. I prefer to make the uprights in single lengths Where' this is-possible but if the Water is very deep two pipe-sectionsmay be spliced together to produce a single upri llt.l Fig. 1 shows a convenient means for sp icin the uprights in this Way, employing a Simp e rod 9 of la size adapted to be closely received into the pipes and having a4 pin 10. to fix its position therein. In any case', Whether single sections or. a lair of splicedA sections are employed, a plura ity of uprights are Jformed Which project. upward vertically or with an inward batter, as desired, above the Water-level. The direction of these up- .f rights determines the outline of the completed masonry structure. In practice I make use ofdistancedods 11 at the upper. ends of the uprights, also composed of pipe, and loosely inserted into the horizontal passages of four Way couplings, which are temporarily held in place thereon by thumb- 'screws 28, the Couplings being secured at the tops of `t he respective uprights. I provide plugs in said couplings Which are connected.

y tie-rods 13, screwed onto the plugs byor- Adinary machine-screws 14. The particular arrangement by which the upper ends of the -uprights is determined is relatively unimportant, the parts being fixed together in any desired Way.

. Having obtained a skeleton structure of this form, I proceed With the formation of the cribs and masonry Work proper, and it is evident that the skeleton frameworkabove de-` scribed presents very little surface to the 'action of the Waves and tide and in practice so little surface as to be unaffected' thereby during any ordinary conditions. I now obtain aA supply of ordinarymilled planking about 2 nine inches widefalthough any Width will answer,and certainspecially-formed castings, which are particularly illustrated in Figs. 3

lthree orfour lanka vand 4:. The lumber is sawed intolpredetermined lengths, dependingon the separation The construction shown has special advan-r,

tages, and I prefer to use it in practice,

I make use of three styles of castings, (del' nominated as A., B, and C in the figures.) The castings Aare oblong plates 15, the central parts l16 of which are curved or' deflected Iout of the rectilinear outline.

they are shortened or cut oft 'at one end for a purpose' which Will later appear.. I The'castings Care quite similar to A, except that they have a lateral lug or member 1 8. The variouscastings'have bolt-holes 1'7, in which are received b olts 19 ytor securing the plates .together orto the lank element, as hereimif ter described. is detail construction is of course merely a practical and preferred lform, and Ido not desire to be limited or restricted thereto. AWrought iron or steel plates or othermaterials orn Widely-varying -forms and still secure the features of my invention.,v

Themasonry construction is commenced L by assembling apair of the plates A at lopposite ends of a plank element 20, the curved rIhe castings: B are similar to Ain all respects, except that" It is of course possible to use' v B are also bolted' to the planksfso as to lie o pcsite the first-positioned plates,,wherebyy t e pipeuprights are slidably inclosedbn both sides by the plates. This com letes one element of the crib-Wall which is eing formed. Another element maybe organ-- ized in the same Way and superposed upon the first and in this Way a tier constructed of All lthis is accomplished above t ve surface :of the Water and in the open air at the upper parts of the upright! structure. v t t' Having formed the tier of 'three/ or four planks, I organize another tier bet, een the next adjacent uprights, The plates A-ex. tending on both sides of the upfights and having bolt-holes at both ends permits the formation of a Wall of elements of any desired length extending betweelnthe successive uprights. This being'cornpleted for a certain distance, about four r five lengths V-in practice, the end elements are fitted with lates of the form 'C in the relation shown in ig. 4. Spacing-blocks may be-inserted atk the free ends. It is now merely necessary to Withdraw vthe pins 21, whereupon the grou of elements forming a small wall-section Wi slide down he upig'hs and mnt-mu, in they s tionwypes Y 0 'WAH mk dei n' 11m I: .35:11, my A conc'st in Q Kaciy the Thus the Coxsiucion division long: *i'he sea mvv-r ont any large amoun of strucurzz fh@ van level BLV-"5 Stags. find it advanmg` cmins or stay-mds; 21% in. the ca 'sf'm'oue divisions and. @Xvndmw h'ough the side walls, 1 r1 such stays or rods' have :Wsfhols are pssed through wha# sn-@vll 1 u n muws o1 Wall-sections to the sebottom, adding Walls 1o to form a crib, and filling the crib With Ina-terial to form a Wall.

In' Witness whereofl I' subscribe my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

ALLEN N. SPOON ER.

Witnesses ALFRED W. PROGTOR,

WM. M. STOCKBRIDGE. 

